Last Minute Tidbits

Preseason Surmisings of a Fantasy Madman

***If the Oakland Raiders had a QB competition going, wouldn’t they have given both their QBs? Instead, it seems as though they wanted to get Pryor as much practice as possible, not competition. But I’m just surmising.

***Ryan Mathews has looked pretty good in preseason, and both those collarbones are titanium reinforced this year, so they aren’t going to break again.

***Roy Helu has been dominant this August. If you take Alfred Morris, you better get Helu too. And if you don’t get Alfred Morris, you might take Helu and stash him on your bench. Let’s not forget, that was Helu’s job a year ago at this time.

***If Danny Amendola stays healthy, he’ll be a stud. (I know I might be Captain Obvious on this one, but there are still doubters.)

***Carl Nicks, the man who many believed was the best left guard in the game before injuring his toe last season has a staph infection in that toe and no one knows when he’ll be ready to go. Staph infections are worse than they sound.

***The Pats only kept two other tight ends other than Gronkowski. This bodes well for his health and draft-ability. On the other hand, Bill Belichick might just be toying with us.

***I don’t know who Jordan Todman is (RB Jacksonville), but he is destroying preseason defenses, averaging 7.7 yards per carry on 27 attempts.

***If you haven’t already, you need to start believing in Stevan Ridley. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry on 22 carries. He runs behind one of the top offensive lines in the league and he’s the short yardage back for one of the best offenses in the league, and HE IS NOT IN A CROWDED BACKFIELD. Nothing makes my blood boil more than people that say he is. What are you scared of? Shane Vereen? Brandon Bolden? Leon Washington? LeGarrette Blount? Vereen was in New England the last two years and never threatened Ridley’s carries. Why all of the sudden is he so great now? The reality is, New England plans to use Vereen as a Darren Sproles type of back. He’ll be on the field in tandem with Ridley, NOT at the expense of Ridley. (Vereen will also play some tight end and wide receiver.)